The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Iran.

The resolution had been tabled by the PES, EPP-ED, Greens/ALE, GUE/NGL and ALDE groups.

It states that it is appalled at the public hanging of the 16-year-old Ateqeh Rajabi in August and deeply concerned at reports that 25 minors have been sentenced to death this past year alone. Parliament strongly condemns the execution of Ateqeh Rajabi and all other death sentences and executions of child offenders in Iran. It calls on the Iranian authorities immediately to halt all stoning penalties and to prevent any further application of the death penalty to minors, reiterating its general opposition to the death penalty. Members hope that judicial reform in Iran will bring this inhuman practice to an end.

They condemn the recent arbitrary arrests of journalists, and call on the authorities to release all prisoners prosecuted or sentenced for press- and opinion-related offences. The resolution also condemns the travel ban imposed on journalist and human rights activist Emadeddin Baghi, as on many other Iranian citizens, and urges the Iranian authorities to lift the ban immediately. It expressed concerns about the standards of fair trial in Iran in view of the case of the Iranian intelligence officer acquitted on 24 July 2004, accused of the alleged killing of Kazemi, a Canadian-Iranian freelance photographer, who was arrested while taking photographs outside Tehran's Evin Prison, and died on 10 July 2003 of a brain haemorrhage resulting from beatings. UN Special Rapporteurs note that key evidence in this case was ignored by the court. The Iranian authorities are urged to respect the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which provide that capital punishment shall not be imposed for offences committed by persons below 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the offence.

With regard to EU action, Parliament demands that the Presidency of the Council and the Member States’ diplomatic representatives in Iran urgently undertake concerted action with regard to the abovementioned concerns, in particular the immediate release of the journalists. It calls on the Council to present a resolution on behalf of the EU on the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran for the next session of the United Nations General Assembly. It asks the Council and the Commission to monitor developments in Iran closely and to raise their serious concerns about human rights abuses in the framework of the EU-Iran human rights dialogue.

Lastly, Parliament expresses its hope that the creation of the Interparliamentary Delegation with Iran will enable the European Parliament to engage in constructive discussions with the Iranian Madjlis and Iranian civil society on human rights and other issues of common concern.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Iran.

The resolution had been tabled by the PES, EPP-ED, Greens/ALE, GUE/NGL and ALDE groups.

It states that it is appalled at the public hanging of the 16-year-old Ateqeh Rajabi in August and deeply concerned at reports that 25 minors have been sentenced to death this past year alone. Parliament strongly condemns the execution of Ateqeh Rajabi and all other death sentences and executions of child offenders in Iran. It calls on the Iranian authorities immediately to halt all stoning penalties and to prevent any further application of the death penalty to minors, reiterating its general opposition to the death penalty. Members hope that judicial reform in Iran will bring this inhuman practice to an end.

They condemn the recent arbitrary arrests of journalists, and call on the authorities to release all prisoners prosecuted or sentenced for press- and opinion-related offences. The resolution also condemns the travel ban imposed on journalist and human rights activist Emadeddin Baghi, as on many other Iranian citizens, and urges the Iranian authorities to lift the ban immediately. It expressed concerns about the standards of fair trial in Iran in view of the case of the Iranian intelligence officer acquitted on 24 July 2004, accused of the alleged killing of Kazemi, a Canadian-Iranian freelance photographer, who was arrested while taking photographs outside Tehran's Evin Prison, and died on 10 July 2003 of a brain haemorrhage resulting from beatings. UN Special Rapporteurs note that key evidence in this case was ignored by the court. The Iranian authorities are urged to respect the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which provide that capital punishment shall not be imposed for offences committed by persons below 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the offence.

With regard to EU action, Parliament demands that the Presidency of the Council and the Member States’ diplomatic representatives in Iran urgently undertake concerted action with regard to the abovementioned concerns, in particular the immediate release of the journalists. It calls on the Council to present a resolution on behalf of the EU on the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran for the next session of the United Nations General Assembly. It asks the Council and the Commission to monitor developments in Iran closely and to raise their serious concerns about human rights abuses in the framework of the EU-Iran human rights dialogue.

Lastly, Parliament expresses its hope that the creation of the Interparliamentary Delegation with Iran will enable the European Parliament to engage in constructive discussions with the Iranian Madjlis and Iranian civil society on human rights and other issues of common concern.